Eshoo Presents Bill to Rename Post Office After Fallen Army Officer

Rep. Anna Eshoo (D-Palo Alto) announced a bill today to rename a Mountain View post office after a fallen Mountain View soldier, the representative's office said.

Lt. Kenneth Ballard, who graduated from Mountain View High School in 1995, died in Najaf, Iraq on May 30, 2004. He had been awarded the Purple Heart and three Bronze Stars, two with the "V" device for valor.

"Lieutenant Ballard demonstrated great courage and heroism throughout his military career," Eshoo said in a release. "He made the ultimate sacrifice for his country, and he should be remembered and honored by out community."

Ballard served nine years in the Army and was stationed in Germany, Bosnia, Macedonia, and Iraq. He attended Middle Tennessee State University at Murfreesboro on an Army ROTC scholarship. After college he was deployed to Kuwait and Iraq in 2003 and died after an ccidental discharge of a M-240 weapon mounted on his vehicle, Eshoo's office said.

If passed, the post office would be renamed the Lieutenant Kenneth M. Ballard Memorial Post Office.

In deliberations earlier this year, the Mountain View City Council raised concerns about what would happen when the lease terminated on the U.S. Postal Service location at 211 Hope Street.

While the council supported the renaming, the issue remained unresolved.

Copyright © 2012 by Bay City News, Inc. -- Republication, Rebroadcast or any other Reuse without the express written consent of Bay City News, Inc. is prohibited.

Don't miss a thing in Mountain View!

Follow on Twitter | Like us on Facebook | Get the daily newsletter | Post to our calendar | Share an announcement